Make no little (high speed rail) plans

President Obama quoted Daniel Burnum, "make no little plans," to conclude his address on high-speed rail last Thursday. The 11 minute video is certainly worth watching.

Already $8 billion has been allocated to HSR as part of the stimulus bill, and Obama has asked for $5 billion more. In the address, Obama calls it "just a first step." As people from other areas use the infrastructure, political will to expand across the country could be developed. He says, "we know this is going to be a long-term project."

Obama even hits on one of the greatest benefits to cities of an HSR network, that the lines will connect the hearts of cities to each other, eliminating the need for a car trip to the airport. The local public transportation infrastructure will be readily at hand, and the traveler can be brought right to the block of their destination.

The blog TransportPolitic dissects the plan with more detail.